HTC Tattoo Launch / Quick Review

This post is long overdue! Thanks to an invite by DK, I had the opportunity to attend my first ever mobile phone launch at ButterFactory. Speaking of which, I have not been to ButterFactory for some time. The most recent moment I've been to it was when I kena bua'ed by my Boss for forgetting to send an email to notify my colleagues for a meeting. It was nothing short of being an unHappy Hour. =(

Thus, when I reach Robertson Quay on a warm Thursday evening, I was being redirected by a kind lady from a nearby pub to Fullerton One, where ButterFactory was being relocated to. Thinking that it should not be very far, I chose walking as my mode of transport and I got there in like almost half an hour! Shacked.


Ok basically at the event, there were more guys than girls, which makes it comfortable for me knowing that Dear will rest assured that I will not try anything funny. The show kicked off with a talk by someone I presume to be the company's spokesperson, both the introduction and my throat got abit dry so I went to order Bourbon Coke, and was surprised that I gotta pay for it.

Swarku me later realised that I can get complimentary drinks, provided that I had to mix with an Asahi brand liquor, which is one of the sponsors for the night. Well, didn't tasted too bad and I had 4 glasses and one beer. Shiok!



Not forgetting my main motive, I checked with DK and he told me there was a test set available, so I approached one of the friendly HTC guy to check out the phone. Given my tipsy state and unfamiliarity with the phone's Android UI, I must say I'm pretty impressed by the slickness of it all.


My first perceptions is that it is lightweight, though on the more 'plasticky' side. The buttons have a nice tactile feel with each of them adequately spaced apart. Some common applications can be found on the homescreen and perhaps they could be reconfigured.



What I liked about the on-screen shortcuts is that the applications can be easily identified, either from the icon image or the description below it. My N97 only shows the icons and sometimes it can be rather confusing to determine which icon stands for Images or Note, as both have a small picture of a photograph present.


Very neat menu layout, with a fair bit of description below each submenu title.

Ahh .. iPhone styled. Nice.

One bad thing is you can't use the camera or other functions without a memory card, and it will keep prompting you for the card even though there's already a 512MB built-in memory.

The phonebook was like, erm, not displaying enough contacts though. I'd prefer it to be sorted by a few favourite contacts so that I don't have to navigate all around the phone just to call my dad.



Hmm.. Bedok Thai? Sounds like this guy got a Thai fling eh? Feeling alil cheeky...



I called this 'Bedok Thai' up! Kidding lah. Immediately hung up man!


And the calendar. Didn't feel like probing further if not I might discover a whole list of f**k schedules. Keke.

Of course, a free tattoo session should be available for such an event especially when there's so much in common! I thought they were gonna spray paint on my phone but I was disappointed when it's I knew it's not.



This babe actually took dunno how long to get her tattoo done. Another 'tattooist' was finished with 3 clubbers already but she's still sitting there. This is the first time I got impatient waiting for a tattoo job. Grr!



Alas, my turn. An unknown blogger was actually beside me snapping away at my selection. I asked him why don't he capture my face too (hehe so that I can get free publicity on his blog)? He just said he don't want to expose the person who got that design.



Yes that's my arm.


It's for the Missus!!

I've Passed!

Yaay!

Poor Nokia N97

I am utterly disappointed with recent Nokia products, especially this N97. As promising as it looks, it fails to perform in many aspects and weird bugs appear every now and then. Some of the peeves I get are, in order of annoyance:

1. Screen hangs when someone calls.

2. VERY POOR RECEPTION. Calls keep dropping even though I'm in my room.

3. VERY POOR BATTERY PERFORMANCE. The BP-4L lasted longer on my E90!

4. The Nokia Tune replaces my 'Signum' tone for no apparent reason.

5. New Problem: The backlight sometimes do not turn off even after the timeout duration is set.

6. Inflexibility to choose the mode of online connection for certain applications.

7. Screen and buttons lock themselves up out of a sudden. I had to remove and replace the battery while keeping the slide open and the locking switch pushed down.

7. Laggy performance in contrast to the Apples.

8. After storing my messages in the Mass Storage, it will revert back to C drive (which has a pathetic 30 odd MB of storage space) after I connect to PC suite.

I was so desperate for a firmware upgrade (which Europe and some other countries have already, but not in Singapore) that I had to change my product code to get this update, even if it means voiding my M1 warranty if the Nokia Care Centre finds out about this. And guess what, my twin bro who also got this phone called me and asked for a fix within a month of usage.

After changing the product code and updating the firmware to 20.0.019, at least the phone becomes more serviceable. The above points in bold still persist though. Those who attempt to change the product code, you can change back to the original product code with the newest firmware still installed. But remember, once you've upgrade the firmware, you won't be able to downgrade!

The Nokia Discussion Boards have been pegged with complaints of N97 as expected, with a handful stating that the N97 will be their last Nokia phone. Orbi good to Nokia. Time to associate their phones with fruits lah.

Not only does the list of problems go on and on, I actually broke the part where I hung my landyard!

View from top

View from inside. The mini plastic axis is broken!

All because I tugged at it with some force. I wonder why they don't use a metal axis instead. Sigh. And they had to proclaim this as their flagship phone. Think it's more of a FatShit phone instead.

Well I guess this should be my last Nokia product too. GoodBye Nokia. Sobs.

My head whirls when I'm at Body Worlds (and at the Omni Theatre too)

The much anticipated Body Worlds exhibition came to Singapore only recently, and I bet many out there are wondering if it's worth a visit. A few things to note: every piece of display artifect is real, some of them are dismembered in such details that you can see the many dimensions of the organs inside the human body. If you faint at the sight of pig intestines, then this is not for you.

A very sombre atmosphere engulfs you the moment you step into the hall. Since the exhibit emphasizes on the cycle of life, a showcase touching on human birth and erm, sex, is presented. I was shocked by the display of foetuses, not one, but in around 6-9 stages of pregnancy. The sight of the poor lifeless babies were so heart-wrenching that I almost teared on the spot. Dear realised that those dead foetuses were real only after we left the building. I guess she couldn't stomach the fact that unborn babies do perish in this cruel world.

I was thinking, if it was an abortion, how could the baby be vacuumed out in one piece? Maybe there was a terrible car accident involving the mother and the child, and you know what happens next. Shudders ~ I've ever watched a video posted by Ally on her facebook, showing gruesome scenes of the remnants of abortions, especially when someone uses a tweezer to pick up a broken leg from a mangle of bodies. Or the part where the dead foetus (roughly 6-7 months old) was being wrapped up like Chai Tao Kuey with a paper. Eeeew!! From that day onwards, I am an Anti-Abortion Alan! A.A.A!

There were various other things on display, some which I felt are very disturbing and left a deep impression on me. Some models worthy of a mention are:

The Chess Player:
Since this is one of the few plastinations that are seated, the brain is at a comfortable level for viewing. Make sure to check out the back where you can see a cross section of his spine.

Rearing Horse with Rider:
Another breath-taker. The setting of this display is rather thought-provoking, as the rider and his skeleton are adjacent to each other while both are riding the horse. The rider is also holding his own heart in one hand, and the horse's in another!

Giraffe:
I do not have to tell you where to find it! I was blown away with this one, especially at the back where you tend to compare your body parts with it. Hmm. The buttocks were already at a higher position than my head. I think the giraffe is a wonderful creation by god, nothing comes close to its height! I've read about World Book comparison charts of Man and other Mammals in the past, but the experience is not as real as this. Maybe too real?

A body that is dissected into many parts and left dangling in the air, with some reindeers in front pulling a sledge:
It looks like it's trying to portray Santa Clause and the reindeers. This one can make all of Rudolph red.

Emphasis is on leading a good life, that's what most of the posters found in the hall tell you. An interesting fact that I've learnt is that given our size according to the mammalian rule, human beings can only live up to 20-odd years. But over the years, the knowledge to our way of survival is being passed down from generation to generation, and we outlived our initial lifespan by 4 times! Woah imagine if I'm living in prehistoric times, and I'm about to die now? My driving instructor is surely going to hammer me for disrupting his coaching schedule.

Teehee.

Or maybe he'll flatten me with his Flintstone road-roller. Teeheehee.

Anyway, there is also a body donation programme going on and if you are interested in more details, kindly click on the link below

Plastination and Body Donation

Don't worry, they won't stuff you with Play-Doh. Plastination is a very sophisticated process to preserve your body which involves using materials like acetone, plastic and silicone rubber. I'm considering whether to donate or not, I'm just afraid it'll be a big OUCH when they dissect me after I die, and I'll end up chasing everyone in my birthday suit and a half-cut penis, not to mention marbles dangling between my legs like instant noodles with fishballs tied to them.

Those interested in the exhibition may book online. Tickets are priced at $22 and $14 for adults and children respectively, inclusive of $1 booking fee per head, with the body intact of course. Better hurry if you wish to go on the during the upcoming weekend as the tickets are often being snapped up fast.

After the intensive 2 hours of Body Worlds, we caught Space Station at the Omni Theatre. It was the last day of screening for this show and surprisingly, only 4 rows of seats were occupied. The 40 min show is puke-inducing and boring, Dear can vouch for that! What's up with watching astronauts floating and repairing space equipment? There's nothing much I can say here except that the commentary was done by Tom Cruise. I'm thinking of all people, why choose him? Why not Aerosmith???

Still, it was hell of an education tour for us last Sunday. Thinking ahead, we should try to eat healthily and exercise more! And the most important thing I've realised for this trip is -





Wei wei wei, this rule applies to all the wanting-to-be-smokers out there also hor.

Another embarrassing Ris Low video.

I hate to say this, but is she going to be a female version of Steven Lim??
Maybe I can still tahan Steven Lim, but Ris? OMG.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpHoHJ4DFIQ&feature=player_embedded.

Really speechless.